October 20, 2010

girls rock...

This documentary about "The Rock "n" Roll Camp for Girls" in Portland, Oregon has been in my movie queue for at least a year. I finally saw it the other night and I tell you after watching it, I was ready to sign up for the rock n roll camp for big girls that minute and by all means start a camp fund to send my girl to rock out some summer in the not too distant future.

Girls come to camp to explore their appreciation for music, grow their blossoming music related skills and learn something about being in a band. The movie follows four of the girls ages of 7 to 16 through their five day journey at rock camp. Each of these girls show up with with varying issues around self-esteem, body image, and struggles of fitting in to who they think they're supposed to be.

Besides learning how to play an instrument in five days, girls are taught band communication, self-defense and expression. They see in their counselors, all women, role models who are intelligent, beautiful no matter what their shape or size, and powerful in their beings. The counselors/teachers lead these young girls into smashing through cultural stigmas and pressures; to strip away fears of being who they are as they are.

What is perhaps most moving is the transformation each young girl experiences as she awakens into her full, unabashed being, confident and proud. By the end, these young girls are rockin out as they never have before letting their spirits fly free.

The stories each girl reveals of themselves is moving and powerful. Laura, one 15 year old honestly and bluntly talks about hating herself and feeling like she never fits in. She covers up her pain with an outgoing personality and a whole lot of humor. By the culmination of the week she gets that she IS incredible, beautiful and amazing just as she IS. She allows in, support, friendship and reflection that reveals to her she is powerful. She allows her spirit to fly.

Misty, a 17 year old has grown up in group homes, raised at points by grandparents who told her she was a loser. She comes to camp and is made to feel like what she has to say matters. She gets the chance to feel good about herself something that she's not experienced much in her life.

Another young girl, Amaka who is eight talked about not feeling like she's liked in school. She runs through a roster of names of girls who she perceives don't like her. She makes noise, plays music to free herself from the boredom that quiet is to her. In the final performance, she let's go completely in full death-metal fashion and screeches into the microphone and pulls off a guitar performance that is something to behold. Her mother talks of how amazed she is to see her girl let it all go and just be in her full self.Absolutely beautiful.

Palace, age seven is a force. She has some issues getting along with her bandmates and at one point punches one girl in the face when she wants the microphone back. What ensues is the counselor leaing the girls through conflict resolution. Each of the girls is real with Palace about how they feel about her actions and attitude; and this young 7 year old listens without defense. She is then given a chance to speak her feelings and experience. No one is punished, made to feel wrong. Each girl is given responsibility and together they work through the hard and in the end put on a great performance.

The camp directors, teachers, counselors some from famous girl-bands are diligent in their mission to strip away societal messages and pressures of young girls having to look and be a certain way. Every voice is valued at this camp. Girls are empowered to know they matter to know they have a voice and its theirs to speak, sing, screech. How powerful it is to really let go and experience being confident in our own self full throttle.

What I love about this movie is girls not only get comfortable with music but with themselves through the power of music. I see this movie and brainstorm how to bring a program like this right into our school or after school for young girls. I see this movie and dream about how to infuse powerful outlets of expression into curriculum beyond reading, writing and math. I see communication through music, art, movement that gives kids the opportunity to climb out of the box that culture can create. I see workshops that empower youth to build on compassion, integrity, love for themselves and one another.

I'd been dreaming of these ideas already but seeing this movie has inspired me more.